Ascension
by VeneficaMelody
Summary: Thoughts of the legend of Crystal Tokyo, from the mind of Haruna-sensei.


**Ascension**

How many times have you started something, only to have it end in failure? Getting your hopes up only hurts when it's time for the fall. A failed relationship, problems at work, problems at home... They're all part of a never-ending circle of trouble. Stressing about these problems can lead to even worse problems with your personal life. A stress-free life is something that many strive for, but never reach. 

I have heard tales of a glorious land, a land that will be as sparkling as the finest crystal and as peaceful as a summer's eve. Ruled over by a queen who has achieved the final plateau of peaceful living, it is said that this land is one of great beauty and everyone there lives a stress-free life. 

It's just a fairy tale, isn't it? I'm a plain girl, without hope of a future free of sorrow or even of a mate anytime in my life. I have felt the pain of heart-break too many times to count, (many mattered not, but only one truly rocked my soul until I felt as if death had come to take me away on it's dark wings) and my family has never stood by me. Sometimes I wish for this land, this Crystal Tokyo, that I had heard tales about. 

Whispered in alleyways or hinted about in public gatherings, everyone wonders when this amazing land will appear. I began thinking it was only a tale spun by people who wanted out of the drudgery of a normal life, but now I am seeing signs of its existence. I know that getting my hopes up will only end in crashing to the ground in a free-fall of pain and desperation, but I cannot just let it go. Hopes are too few in this world, dreams coming true seem to never happen. So why can I not hold onto the dream of a perfect world? 

I may die years before this world is realized and comes to fruition. A dream that everyone holds in their heart is what this Crystal Tokyo is. So why do so many refuse to believe in it? I have seen a young girl, clumsy and often embarrassed by her own actions, become a self-confident, graceful woman that men dream of. She has gotten her own close-knit group of friends, and even a boyfriend! I never dreamed of such things for Tsukino Usagi, who always failed in my class. 

People are surprising, of course. But for all the good things now in her life, I have noticed that Usagi has pushed away Osaka Naru, who used to be her best friend. Perhaps becoming popular made her forget those who stood by her when she was the gangly youth. It was with a child's impetuousness that made Usagi leave Naru behind, so perhaps one day she'll recall the friend who was there for her. 

I am Sakurada Haruna, and I was Usagi's teacher when she was fourteen. Now, the girl is nearing her twenty-fifth birthday, and I have heard that she has an amazing life, with an amazing husband and a child on the way. I do not make it a practice to know what has happened to students after they leave my classroom, but the case of Usagi is quite different. There was something inside her that few realized. I only pressed her to get better grades because I knew that she could do it. So many people just let her potential pass by as she lived in a childish world of video games and fantasies. But I knew that she was something more inside, and perhaps it was only because of that knowledge that I pressured her to do better on her tests. The turn-around was truly spectacular! 

But I believe that it had nothing to do with me, the sudden change in the girl. It was something that she brought on by herself, perhaps by some monumentous moment in her own life. Whatever it was that spurred Tsukino Usagi on to a new life, I am glad that it occurred. 

The newspapers are speaking of freezing conditions in America, in places that are normally warm all year-round. Places like Florida and California are experiencing abnormal snow-fall, and I wonder if this is the start of the end. Even the cherry blossoms do not bloom this spring, and I fear that it is a sign from the Gods around us. Have they grown angered with the way man treats earth, and decided to end all life? 

Sometimes I laugh at the way people rush through life. They do not even realize the simple things that are happening around them. I have seen that the people wish for a scientific explanation of the things that are going on, but they do not want to observe the notion of magic. They avoid any mention of magic -- they don't want to think that it might be involved here. Why are they so pitiful, so grasping to find a logical explanation for this? I hold strong that it is the spirit of the gods that surround us that has decided for all of this to happen. 

I haven't forgotten the tales of a place called Crystal Tokyo, and place that is said to be so perfect, no one ever wants to leave it. I think that I'll never ascend to that plateau of perfection, but it is a nice dream. Am I childish, for believing in a tale that people only whisper of? I probably am, but I have no care for those who whisper about me behind my back. I wish for a stress-free life of peace, and I see it in the mythical place of Crystal Tokyo. Maybe someday... 

A darkness is falling before my eyes now, as if I am falling into a deep sleep. But why? How? I just stepped onto the street to go to my apartment, and I am... 

Floating. 

But how? Oh... There is my body, there on the street. I have been hit by a truck, one that I didn't see. The sirens are screaming across town as the paramedics race to save me, but I know that it is too late. I've left this plane of reality. But now... What do I do? 

"You come with me." 

I turn at the soft voice, seeing a man floating there nearby. He is wearing a white outfit, and glowing. Oh, he looks like an angel! But that horn in the middle of his head... 

"I am Helios, Keeper of Elysian. It is where your soul shall rest until it is time for Crystal Tokyo. You wish to see its birth, don't you?" 

I nod, wondering how this man knows such things. But of course, he must be an angel. A perfect, shining angel who will take me to a glorious land. I reach out to accept the hand that he offers me, and peace washes over my body as we touch. This is the miracle I was look for. In death, there is life. 

I have not forgotten. 

*** 

**Author's Notes**: Not sure what inspired this story. It just sorta... came to me, I guess. ^_^;; 


End file.
